


NOX

by thebubblingCauldron



Series: Light and Dark [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:28:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebubblingCauldron/pseuds/thebubblingCauldron
Summary: "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."Nora Fraser returns to Hogwarts for her fifth year of school. Her cousin, Cedric, is dead. Voldemort is back. And her school is overtaken by a power hungry woman in a pink suit.But the thing she's most unsure about?Draco Malfoy.Year 5
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Light and Dark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946002
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Fifth Year

It had been four months almost to the day since they had lost Cedric. Of course they had all taken it hard. She saw him everywhere. Her cousin had been one of the warmest people she had ever known. His very presence had been as happy and bright as a ray of sunshine. But no one had felt the loss as keenly as she had. The world already seemed duller, icier without him. She missed him to no end, especially with the start of a new school year. They had always waited for each other at the platform, even now she searched among the throng of families waiting to send their students off to Hogwarts, before she realised--he wasn't here. He would never be here again. She shook the thought off, wiping the flush of emotion that threatened to overtake her, from her face as she turned to say goodbye her mother. 

"Have you got everything you need?" Nancy Fraser asked for the fourth time that morning since arriving at Kings Cross Station.

Nora adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, trying not to seem impatient. "Yes Mum, I'm fine. Really."

Her mother gave her a swift hug as the train whistle pierced the air. "Have a good term, love. Don't forget to write."

"I won't." Nora said, giving her a squeeze. "Tell Dad I said bye. I love you both."

She gave her a smile before Nora followed the throng of students climbing aboard the already crowded train. She shouldered her bag, trying to hide her annoyance as the inevitable shoving match ensued while everyone tried to find an open compartment to sit in. She was still looking for an open seat when she spotted a tuft of red hair in the car ahead of her. Working her way through the group of first years, she saw a matching red head pop up beside the first one and grinned. She made it to the car and threw her bag down, taking the seat across from the two boys.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, boys!" She exclaimed, reaching out to hug Fred and George Weasley.

Their grins mirrored her own. "Nora!" Fred said, still beaming. "How was your summer?"

"Well," Nora said, flopping back down in her chair. "You would know a lot more about it if either of you had bothered to answer any of my letters."

George scratched the back of his neck at her withering look. "We were going to write, honest we were! We just got kind of--"

"Tied up." Fred said, finishing the sentence for him.

She rolled her eyes. "It's always something with the two of you. Well, what was it this time?" But she held up her hand to stop George's response. "Wait, no. Let me guess. Visiting those muggle girls in the village, again? Or was it the famous Weasley rockets?"

Fred and George looked at each other. "Well, it was neither." Fred said, looking down at his hands. "But we can't exactly tell you what we were up to either."

Nora gave him a quizzical look. "But you tell me everything."

George bit his lip. "And we would tell you this too, Nor. Except it doesn't exactly just concern us and well, we've been sworn to secrecy."

"Bloody hell, what did you do? Rob Gringots?" She said, letting out a breathy laugh at the impossibility of the joke.

Fred smirked. "If we had successfully robbed the most protected bank in the wizarding universe do you _really_ think we'd be on this train right now?"

She raised her hands in surrender. "Fair point." She settled back in her seat, getting comfortable as the train pulled out of the station. When she looked up again the twins were staring at her. "What? Have I got something on my face?"

"No." George said, hesitating. "We just--we really do want to know how you're doing. This summer can't have been easy. I mean, we know you usually spend every summer with Cedric and it's your first without him. Harry's been beating himself up about it too."

She froze. She had expected this, of course, but that didn't make the reality of the situation any better. "I--" She fumbled trying to stop the sudden lump in her throat from rising. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Fred frowned. "Nora, we just want to help. Harry does too--"

"You know better than to mention that name to me." She said, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Fred tried not to seem too shocked. "Nora, you know that Cedric wouldn't want this. He and Harry were friends. He wouldn't want you to blame him."

"But that's just it, isn't it?" Nora said, wiping her eyes quickly as a few tears escaped. "He's not here to tell us what he would want. He's gone and I can't stop myself from blaming Harry Potter. He never should have been a part of that stupid tournament in the first place."

"Nora-" George began, but she stood up quickly brushing him off.

"I'll be fine, Georgie. Just need some air." She made her way swiftly out of the car, heading for the back of the train. She could feel the flush of heat against her skin and knew she would start crying in earnest at any moment. Finally reaching the back of the train, she grabbed the handle of the exit and flung it open. She was instantly hit with a blast of warm summer air, and gulped it in as she tried to gain control of herself again.

She _knew_ she shouldn't blame Harry for Cedric's death. After all, Harry wasn't the one that had killed him. It had been Voldemort. But somehow, Nora couldn't let go of the anger she had towards the boy. If Harry wasn't the Chosen One then no one would have bothered to enter his name in the Triwizard Tournament in the first place. He and Cedric never would have entered that maze together. The cup never would have been a port key and Cedric never would have been killed. She knew that Fred was right, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to put this behind her so easily. " _Dark Lord._ " She scoffed to herself, quietly. If she ever came face to face with the man she would kill him, Chosen One be damned. And that bloody Barty Crouch Jr. well she did not exactly feel sorry that he'd been given the Kiss." 

She shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts, and then sighed. She stood there for a few moments contemplating, before finally shutting the door. She turned, meaning to make her way back down the corridor, before she bumped head first into someone's chest. Hands came up to steady her and she began to apologise profusely. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where--" She snapped her head back, her apology dying on her lips as she came face to face with the _last_ person she had wanted to see at this particular moment.

Draco Malfoy stood before her, a wicked smirk spreading across his face. "You should watch where you're going Fraser."

She pushed his hands away. "Shove off, Malfoy."

"Now now," he said, wagging a finger at her. "Is that any way to talk to your house prefect?"

She feigned remorse. "I'm so sorry, of course you're right. What I meant to say is 'Shove off, you great big _prat_.'"

"How dare you talk to me like that." He responded angrily. "You think I can't call you worse?" He scoffed. "You think you're so above everyone else when you've got blood filthier than a Mudblood. You're a--"

"Tutt tutt! Language Malfoy, you are a prefect after all." She interrupted him, "I'm sorry to put an end to what I am sure would be a very beautiful and colourfully worded response, but I honestly have better things to do with my time than stand here and be insulted by someone whose opinion I honestly couldn't care less about. So if you'll excuse me." She said, shoving past him to rejoin her friends, and leaving an absolute furious Draco Malfoy staring after her.

Truth be told Draco Malfoy was not exactly sure why he made life so difficult for the girl. In all honesty, he had been as surprised as anyone else when the sorting hat had placed her in Slytherin. She didn't seem like the type. But he had learned just as quickly as everyone else had that she could fend for herself. If she hadn't become such good friends with the Weasleys--those blood traitors--then he might have actually put in some effort with her, he may have actually liked her. She was one of the only girls in his year who had some backbone when it came to his relentless teasing and taunts. But making friends with that _Granger_ girl and, of course, _Potter_.... Well, now he was almost obligated to hate her.

Oblivious to the thoughts of the boy she left behind, she made her way back into the community car, and took her seat again letting out a huff of air as she did so. "Nora, I'm sorry, I should've just kept my mouth shut." Fred said, frowning.

She waved him off. "S'okay, Freddie. It's not you anyways."

"Let me guess." George said.

She rolled her eyes. "Malfoy." She said, with a grimace.

The twins laughed at her expression. "You two have been at each other's throats since the minute you stepped off the train your first year." Fred said.

Nora groaned. "You don't have to tell me that. I don't know why he enjoys tormenting me so much. I've never done anything to him."

"Nora, love, you're a blood traitor and he's a pureblood enthusiast. Does he really need another reason to torment you?" Fred said, reaching forward to ruffle her hair.

She batted his hands away and tried to fix the mess he had made. "I guess you're right." She shrugged. "Life would be a lot easier if we weren't in the same house. At least I could avoid him sometimes."

George smirked. "Are you sure you don't like not being able to avoid him, Nor? He is very handsome after all."

She giggled. "Funny, George. Very funny."

The boys laughed again and the three of them settled in for the rest of the journey to school talking animatedly amongst themselves about the various schemes and jokes they had pulled over the summer as well as all the different ways the boys had tried to come by some money in order to start the joke shop they had been planning to open once they finished school. Nora fell into conversation easily with her two best friends and forgot all about the pain of missing Cedric, her anger towards Harry, and even Draco Malfoy. 

***

She followed the throng of students into the Great Hall, waving goodbye to the twins as she headed for her own house table. She looked on as Professor Snape did nothing to stop Malfoy from bullying a group of first years waiting to be sorted, and rolled her eyes. The sorting was quick and she cheered alongside her fellow housemates as Slytherin gained a few new faces, their eyes wide with the excitement of it all. Dinner was a grand affair as it always was, plates piled high with every food imaginable. The students ate their fill, talking and laughing amongst each other as they swapped stories about their summers. The room fell silent as the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, stood giving a few announcements about new rule changes and what would be required of them this year. His most important form of business was to introduce a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, a duty which had become almost old hat for the students. 

They had a new teacher every year it seemed, though Nora thought this one would be the worst by far. She was a short, squat sort of woman with a face that resembled a toad. And she seemed completely obsessed with the color pink, wearing an entirely nauseating amount. Dumbledore introduced her as Dolores Umbridge, a very high (and very self important, it seemed) employee of the Ministry. She interrupted him to make a small speech, an action which shocked most of the people in the room. No one interrupted the Headmaster when he was speaking. Dumbledore seemed to take it in stride, and finished his announcements with a warning for students to stay in bed after curfew, a rule which he promised the school would be taking far more seriously than they had in previous years. 

That signaled the end of dinner and students began to file out of the Hall towards their dormitories. Nora followed the rest of Slytherin house towards the dungeons breaking into a smile as she spotted Blaise Zabini in the common room. "Alright, Fraser?" He said, grinning as he scooped her up into a hug. 

"Missed you Zabini." She said, laughing as he swung her around. "Have a good summer?"

"Could've been better."

She sighed. "I know how you feel." Blaise seemed worried immediately, and she realized how the words must have sounded so soon after Cedric's death, but she shrugged it off. "Met up with Malfoy on the train over, as well." 

"What did he say this time?" Blaise said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing I haven't heard before."

He frowned. "You'd tell me, if he was bothering you, wouldn't you?"

Nora laughed. "Not a chance Zabini. I fight my own battles." She said, giving him a playful shove. "Speaking of which," she said, glancing across the room towards where Draco Malfoy was beginning to move towards them. "I'm not in the mood for a fight tonight, and I think Malfoy is getting ready to abuse his prefect powers. I'll see you at breakfast, alright?" He gave her a nod of acknowledgement and she turned to make her way up the stair to the girls dormitory. 

She greeted her roommates, grudgingly. Pansy Parkinson had never been her favorite person, but she had tolerated her for Blaise's sake. She made a mental note to stay out of the girl's way now that she had become a prefect. Nora's trunks had already been delivered and she changed out of her robes quickly, climbing in to the old four poster bed, and drawing the curtains closed as she settled in. She pulled the covers up to her chin and sighed. 

She hated to think just how different this year would be. She often thought she had been sorted in to the wrong house. Her friends made her an easy target, and this time Cedric would not be there to look out for her. Sure, Blaise was her friend, but even he walked the line when it came to her _blood traitor_ antics. Draco Malfoy would be sure to make her life a living hell, and she would be sure to do the same in return. But something seemed different this year, with all the panic of Harry's claim that Voldemort had returned she wondered what the future would bring. She shivered as she thought of it, but steeled herself. Whatever it brought, she would be ready for it. 


	2. Defense Against the Dark Arts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain is fried :)

Nora hurriedly made her way to her first lesson of the day. Potions was one of her least favorite lessons, but just because Professor Snape was her head of house, did not mean she could be late. If anything, her friendship with the notorious Golden Trio complicated her relationship with the man and she often found herself at the brunt of Snape's ill humor. The fact that her head of house had been passed over for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, yet again, and for a woman like Umbridge? Nora did not think his usual attitude would be much improved by the circumstances.

The scene she came upon as she turned the corner, seemed very awkward indeed. Harry Potter stood in front of the classroom door exchanging a quick conversation with Cho Chang. It did not look as though it was going well, in fact, as soon as Cho caught sight of Nora she immediately excused herself and made her way towards the girl. "Hi, Nora." She said, giving her a hug.

"Cho." She nodded towards where Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood. "What was that all about?"

"Quidditch...and...Cedric." She said, frowning. "I'm tired of people treating me so carefully. Like I'll dissolve into a mess of snot and tears at the mention of his name."

Nora laughed, softly. "Wouldn't you though? Wouldn't we both?"

"I guess you're right." She replied looking down at the floor. "There's no time limit on grief, but four months definitely isn't long enough."

Nora reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You _can_ talk to me you know." 

"I know." She said, softly. "I guess I just--" She cut off, her voice wavered slightly. "He was your cousin. And we'd only been dating a few months, I didn't want to burden you with it. As if somehow I had the right to be more upset than you were. And then you are always so strong about everything." She trailed off. 

The truth was that Nora Fraser was not as strong as she seemed. The sorrow and rage she had felt since the death of her cousin had been a constant battle, so strong at times it threatened to overtake her, nearly suffocating her. Several times over the past summer she had felt she was drowning in the torrent, her grief heavy in her chest, wrapping around her lungs and squeezing until it left her physically gasping for breath. The nightmares had not helped. She had spent night after night running through the pathways of the maze she had never been in, her mind conjuring up the details of Cedric's final moments as she screamed herself awake. Her poor parents had been so worried they had almost taken her to Saint Mungo's, but with her father working as an auror for the Ministry, they had thought better of the idea. Issues dealing with the mind where never a good thing, even in the wizarding world. 

It had been Professor Dumbledore who had first suggested occlumency. Her parents had resisted, at first, convinced that she was too young. The idea seemed a ridiculous solution to her problems. Why would she ever need to shield her mind? But when her parents warmed to the idea and she had begun her lessons with Dumbledore, she had come to learn just how precious the skill was. She had learned how to compartmentalise the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, plucking the memories from her mind and placing them into potion bottles, capping them as tightly as she could before organizing them on their shelves. Though she was still new to the skill, it had helped her immensely, allowing her to get a handle on her emotions till she was able to function normally from day to day. 

Nora blinked, realising they had been standing in silence for more than a few seconds. She dropped her hand from the other girl's shoulder. "I've been...learning how to adjust." She said, biting her lip, not sure she should share her summer's activities. "Compartmentalizing" she said, hoping she hadn't given too much away with the use of the word, "is the only thing that seems to help me...keep things under control."

"Oh." Cho breathed out. "I suppose that explains it." She said, seeming slightly confused.

The bell sounded. "You don't have to hide it from me, okay?" Nora said, giving her and encouraging smile. 

Cho nodded and smiled back. "I've got to go, I'm late for Transfiguration."

Nora followed the rest of the class down to Snape's dungeon, sighing as she made her way over to her usual table. Blaise was already there along with Theodore Nott. Bracing herself for the onslaught of torment she was sure was to come, she sat down heavily, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. Blaise caught her eye and quirked a brow at the gesture. She shook her head quickly and resolved to tell him about the conversation if he pestered her about it later.

After a few moments Snape called the classroom to order and went over a few details about the O.W.L. examination they all would have to sit come the end of the year. As soon as Snape qualified that he only accepted those with an "outstanding" mark into his N.E.W.T. potions class, Nora began to lose interest. She hated potions and could never imagine herself taking a higher level class unless she was forced into it. She began to think of all the different ways she could fill the time without the usual monotony of a double potions class, her mind drifting to hours spent in her favorite corner of the library or speeding around the quidditch pitch on her broom. The classroom door banged open, snapping her out of her reverie, as Draco Malfoy sauntered into the classroom.

"You're late, Mr. Malfoy." Professor Snape, snapped at him.

"I'm sorry, sir. I won't happen again." He said, smirking. The whole class knew that it would happen again, several times throughout the term, though Draco would never be punished for it. Snape was like that when it came to punishment for students in his own house, especially the ones he liked.

"Very well," Snape replied in a tone of annoyance. "Take your seat over there, next to Miss Fraser." Nora groaned inwardly, as he made his way towards her throwing his bag on the table and taking the seat across from her. Snape continued. "Today we will be making a Draught of Peace known to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. The instructions," he said, waving his wand, "are on the blackboard. You have an hour and a half to complete your task. Begin."

She steeled herself and turned to Draco. "Why don't you grab the supplies out of the store cupboard, while I get the cauldron going."

He leaned back in his chair, "No, I don't think I will thanks."

She rolled her eyes. She should have expected this. "We are supposed to be making this potion together, Malfoy."

"Says you." He said, haughtily. "I happen to be quite content sitting here."

Theo laughed loudly at the comment and she gave Blaise an exasperated look. She would much rather be working on this with him, but Theo had snagged him as soon as they had started. She let out a huff of frustration, but said nothing. She grabbed the necessary ingredients for the potion and set to work, determined not to talk to him for the rest of the lesson. After a few minutes he began taunting her. "What's the matter, Fraser? Cat got your tongue?"

"No," she said, giving him the most withering look she possibly could. "I simply don't like talking to you."

"You never used to be so quiet. What's the matter with you?"

Blaise answered before she could. "Oh leave it alone would you, Malfoy."

"What, Zabini? Think she can't fend for herself? Got yourself a little crush on the blood traitor have you?" Blaise refrained from answering him, pursing his lips, as was his custom whenever someone mentioned Nora and her close ties with her friends.

Theo grinned. "Don't think he's got a chance, mate. Not with her boyfriends following her around everywhere." He said, jerking his head in the direction of where the trio sat. 

"I think Granger's cornered the market on those two." Draco said, scoffing. "Too bad for you, huh Fraser? What with the whole blood traitor thing you haven't got much hope in the romance department." 

She rolled her eyes. "A blood traitor is currently the only thing that stands between your lazy arse and failing today's lesson so why don't you either help, or shut up."

"As if I would take orders from some common goblin like you." He scoffed.

"Oh, but why not?" She said giving him a sweet smile. "You seem to take orders from your mother so well, why should I be any different?"

Draco scowled at the comment. Blaise laughed, "I told you to stop being a prat, Malfoy."

"Shut up, Zabini." Malfoy said, sulking. "I'll have you know, Frazer, that I'm top in the class for marks."

"Top? I should think Hermione is, isn't she?" Nora asked, innocently. She knew full well that Hermione outranked him.

His frown deepened. "As if that matters." He replied, airily. "Mudblood probably cheated her way to the top, anyways."

"Yes," Nora bit out. "Because Merlin forbid, that you should be able to accept the fact that a Muggleborn witch is smarter than you."

Draco leaned forward, propping his head up on his hand. "Even if she were smarter than me--which she isn't--at least I never have to go through my life as an eager little know-it-all, begging to be accepted into a world where I know I'll never belong." He said the words lazily, as if they held no weight. "Mudbloods are mudbloods for a reason. Better they stay in the muggle world with the rest of their filthy race than mucking up the wizarding world with their blood impurities."

Nora felt her hands grip the side of the table, itching to reach across the space between them a crack him across the face for his remark. His eyes were searching her face, begging for a reaction and she realised then that he was goading her, trying to unhinge her. She took a breath, trying to control the anger she felt rising to the surface, and held his gaze. "Are you going to help with the potion, or not?"

His eyes did not leave hers. "Not." He said, testily.

"Fine."

Nora ignored him for the remainder of the lesson, focusing on the potion brew in the hopes of achieving at least a passing mark. She began adding ingredients to the cauldron, checking her measurements to make sure they were correct. Snape had warned that if they were too heavy handed, the potion would cause a deep and irreversible sleep. She peered into her cauldron at the thick purple liquid that had formed. She combed over the ingredients again trying to figure out where she had gone wrong.

Engrossed in her textbook, she failed to notice the pale haired boy's movements and jumped when his shoulder brushed against hers. "You haven't added enough powdered unicorn horn." He stated, sprinkling another handful into the mixture. The effect was immediate, turning the purple sludge into a smooth and shimmering, turquoise blue. Silver vapors began to rise from the cauldron. 

She felt the heat of his body as he unknowingly pressed his arm against hers, his scent of mahogany and cedar wood mixed with the vapors emitting from the cauldron making her head spin slightly as she inhaled it. Draco glanced at her and she hoped he attributed the flush of her cheeks to the heat of the open flame they hovered over. She cleared her throat, biting her lip as she snatched a vial off the counter. _Bloody hell._ She thought to herself. _I hate him._ So why was she blushing like some besotted school girl at the mere brush of their arms? It was _completely_ ridiculous. She plunged her ladle into the liquid, angrily, pouring it into the siphon and watch the vial fill with the turquoise liquid. 

"Alright there, Fraser?" Theo said, drawing the table's attention to her flushed face. "You look a bit warm." 

She glared at him. "I'm fine." She said capping the bottle. 

He grinned. "Are you sure? You seem a bit tightly wound." 

"Just trying to get the potion correct." Nora replied tightly. "You know some of us actually have to rely on our marks to get us through school. We don't all have our family's money to see us through." 

"I could always help you, _ease_ some of the tension. I'm known to be very gifted with my hands." Theo said, giving her an exaggerated wink.

She felt Draco tense slightly beside her. The action surprised her and she furrowed her brow. "Theo if I wanted a blind grope in some darkened corner of a school corridor, I think maybe I could set my sights slightly higher." 

"Come on Fraser, I'm even willing to look past the whole blood traitor thing." He teased. 

She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately for you, Nott, I am not willing to overlook the string of girls you've been with since third year." 

"Don't forget the boys too." Blaise interjected. 

Nora smirked. "Ah so you swing for the other team but you still play ball, is that it?"

Blaise snorted at her words and Theo wacked him in the back of the head. "Come on, I could make it worth your while." Theo said fingering, what she hoped were coins in his pocket.

"Contrary to popular belief, Theo, my family circumstances are not so dire that I feel the need to resort to prostitution for a living. A very kind offer from the most concerned of souls though, I am sure." She said, flashing him a smile.

"You're fiery, Fraser. I like that." 

Nora shook her head. "Keep dreaming, Nott." She felt Draco relax beside her, and her brow furrowed again. The reaction did not make sense to her. They hated each other of that much she was certain. There was no logical reason for Theodore's teasing to bother him. She suspected that he had simply expected her to lose her temper and maybe that was what had triggered the response. Malfoy was always looking for a reason to see her become unhinged. He enjoyed the sheer power of it all.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she caught sight of Theo nudging Blaise, the two had begun sniggering and she turned around to see what they had been staring at. Harry's potion had not gone as planned. Snape had swooped in out of nowhere and was now talking loud enough for the whole classroom to hear. "Tell me Potter." He said, "Can you read?"

"Yes, sir." Harry said, gritting his teeth.

"And did you do every step you read on the blackboard."

"No, sir."

"Well," Snape said sneering. "I suppose we will have to teach you that Chosen One or not, you are still required to follow instructions just like the rest of the class. You'll receive no marks for today." He said, clearing the contents of Harry's desk away with the flick of his wand. Nora met Harry's eyes across the classroom and looked away quickly. The three boys at her table were trying, and failing to keep their laughter at bay.

"Oh shut up the lot of you." She said, fiercely.

"Defending the boy who killed your cousin, Fraser?" Draco said.

She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "You know I don't believe that."

He scoffed, and shot an incredulous look at Blaise. "So you're telling me you believe that stupid story about the Dark Lord returning?"

"Dark Lord, huh, Malfoy?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "You'd better be careful, wouldn't want anyone to think you actually support the death eater community."

Theo and Blaise both stilled, their eyes snapping over to Malfoy. "Shut up, Fraser." He said, harshly.

"What are you going to do Draco? Throw me in detention?" She looked at him with murder in her eyes. "Oh Draco Malfoy abusing any power that's given to him. Now there's something I haven't seen before."

"I'll do much worse than that." He spat at her, grabbing her wrist as she turned to take their work up to Snape's desk, prodding the inside of her thigh with the tip of his wand.

She looked down at his wand, watching as he pressed it even more firmly into her leg. She shoved his arm away. "Piss off, Malfoy. You don't scare me. There's no daddy to hide behind at school, and we both know you're not man enough to take care of your own problems." She reminded him. Dropping her vial on Snape's desk she returned to the table, gathering up her books and shoving them in her bag. "And by the way, even if Harry did kill my cousin, at least he's not a cowardly, arrogant prick like you." She turned before he could respond and made her way out of the classroom as the bell sounded, signaling the end of the lesson.

The rest of the morning dragged slowly and she kept mostly to herself. People seemed afraid to bother her anyways, and she just didn't seem to have it in herself to go out of her way to talk to anyone. She saw Luna Lovegood in her Divination class and promised to meet up with her and Hermione after dinner in order to go over their schedules together so that they could figure out a study schedule for the rest of the term. The class was as boring and tiresome as usual, and Nora was glad when it was finally over. She made her way towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and heard Ron complaining on her way in about the load of homework they had already been assigned on their first day.

Nora kept her head down, still not sure she was ready to face her friends after a whole summer of silence. It wasn't that she hadn't tried to write them, she had sent plenty of letters to the twins, but when it came to writing Harry, Ron, and Hermione she'd had no clue what to say. Especially Harry. Somehow she didn't think-- _Hey I know my cousin is dead and no one believes your story about Voldemort returning, but I do. I also have vivid nightmares about his death every night and I wake up screaming a lot but anyways! How's your summer holiday going?_ \--qualified as a good way to break the ice. 

Professor Umbridge was already at the head of the classroom, and the students quieted as they found their seats. Nora found Blaise and quickly took a seat next to him, Theo moving to grab the seat directly behind them as Draco settled in next to him. Nora felt his glare on the back of her neck and found herself wishing she had kept her mouth closed, earlier in potions. Her thoughts were interrupted as Professor Umbridge greeted the class, and directed them to put their wands away. "Now," She said, promptly. "Please pull out your books and read the first chapter. There will be no need to talk."

The reading was utterly dull. Nora looked around the room after a few minutes and saw that most of the students were paying little to no attention to the course material. She saw Hermione out of the corner of her eye as her hand shot up in the air, poised to ask a question. Umbridge seemed to ignore her and after a few moments Hermione began waving her hand around frantically trying to get the professor's attention. "Yes, dear?" She said stiffly, allowing Hermione to speak.

"Sorry, Professor, it's just that under course aims," she said point to the writing on the blackboard, "well I see nothing there about actually using the spells we are going to be learning."

Umbridge smiled. "Yes that's right, Miss?"

"Granger." Hermione answered, quickly. "So, we won't be using magic?"

"That is correct. The whole point of the course is to teach you the spells in a risk free environment." Umbridge replied.

Students began paying closer attention to the conversation. _No magic_. Nora thought to herself. _That's got to be the biggest load of--_

"If we're being attacked--" Harry began.

Umbridge put up her hand. "You will raise your hand if you wish to speak." Nora's hand shot up into the air, knowing exactly the question Harry wanted to ask, as she had been thinking along the same lines. "Yes, Miss?"

"Fraser. Sorry Professor, but if we're being attacked it won't exactly be risk free will it?"

"And why would you expect to be attacked, Miss Fraser?" Nora opened her mouth to reply but the woman cut her off. "I must say that your education in this area has been far too progressive for individuals of your age. If you know the theory well enough then you will do just fine in the real world."

Ron cut in. "A fat load of good theory will do us in the real world!"

"School is not the real world." She narrowed her eyes at him. Nora saw on the woman's face that she realised that to follow this line of discussion was to risk losing complete control of the class.

Nora did not even bother to raise her hand. "So we'll have no real preparation learning to defend ourselves against what's waiting out there for us?"

"Why, what could possibly be waiting for you, Miss Fraser?"

"Oh I don't know? Maybe Lord Voldemort?" Harry blurted out. 

Professor Umbridge froze. "Now." She said, slowly. "Let me make quite a few things plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard has returned."

Harry interrupted her. "He has!" He looked around the room wildly as is begging his classmates to believe him. His eyes caught hers across the room and she felt her potions shelf shake as the bottle containing her memories of Cedric began to rattle. She sucked in a breath, tearing her eyes away from Harry's to look at the floor, as she worked to keep the bottle capped and on its shelf. 

"Ten points from Gryffindor Mr. Potter. Do not interrupt me again." Professor Umbridge said, smiling sweetly. "Now as I said, you have been told that a certain dark wizard has returned. Let me put your minds at ease by telling you that this. Is. A. Lie."

Nora could feel the heat rising in her face as her anger presented itself. "It's not a lie." Nora said quietly. She knew this was not a good idea. The cork on her Cedric bottle had come off, her mind distracted by the need to respond and her memories were threatening to spill out. She struggled mentally with cap of the bottle again, trying to cork it but it was as if the mouth of the bottle had shrunk.

"I beg your pardon, Miss Fraser?"

Blaise grabbed her arm, trying to prevent what he knew was coming, but she shook him off. She continued. "It's not a lie." She said, her voice louder.

"Here we go." She heard Draco whisper. 

"It's not a lie!" Harry yelled at Malfoy. "I saw him! I fought him!"

Professor Umbridge lost her composure. "NO ENOUGH MR. POTTER. DETENTION."

He continued. "So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, then?" Everyone in the classroom seemed to stop breathing at the same time, as they turned to catch Nora's reaction to the statement. Cedric's potion bottle rattled again. 

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident--" Umbridge began.

Cedric's bottle toppled off the shelf, and fell to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. The memories of her cousin rushed to the front of her mind, swirling and expanding until his face was all she could see. "An accident?" She said, her voice rising, rage she presumed had won the battle against her sorrow and pain. "An _accident_ is twisting your ankle because you missed the invisible step in the common room. An _accident_ is being knocked around by the Whomping Willow because you got too close. My cousin was _murdered_ by a dark wizard you claim to be dead and you want to call it an accident? Voldemort killed him and you know it. I will not sit here and listen to you chalk up his death to an accident. Open your eyes, you absolutely insensitive wart!"

She was heaving by the time she finished her rant. Umbridge's eyes went wide at the insult and, indeed, Nora could hardly believe she had said it. "Detention, Miss Fraser." She said, quietly. After a few moments she began writing two notes at her desk and called them both up when she had finished. "Take these to your heads of houses." Harry and Nora looked at each other. "And," she added, "I will see you both starting Thursday night at six o'clock for your detentions." The two turned to face the class and headed for the back door of the classroom. She caught Blaise's eye as she left and shrugged at his shocked expression. She looked behind him to where Draco Malfoy sat, arms folded a smug grin on his face. She casually flipped him the bird as she walked and the grin faltered.

She walked quickly down the hallway trying to avoid the awkward conversation she was sure was coming but Harry caught up to her, grabbing her arm. "Nora, wait."

She sighed. "What, Harry?"

"I just--I wanted to apologise." He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"For what? Did you kill Cedric? His eyes went wide. "Well, no of course not, but I--"

"Then you have nothing to apologise for." She said, evenly.

He looked hopeful. "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore? That you don't blame me?"

"I never really blamed you in the first place, Harry." She said, swallowing hard to keep down the lump she felt rising in her throat. "I know it's not your fault. It was just easier. Easier, than thinking that he died for nothing and that I should have been able to do something--" Tears spilled out of her eyes.

Harry took one look at her and pulled her into his chest. His own voice was rough with emotion when he spoke. "He didn't die in vain, Nora. He was a fighter. I'm sorry I couldn't have done more to save him. I should have done more."

She shook head a pulled back to look at him. "There was nothing more you could do, Harry. Ced would be glad that you saved yourself. We'd be lost without you. He knew that. I'm sorry I've been so cross with you, it was just...hard."

Harry gave her a smile. "Friends?" He said, sticking out his hand.

She shook it. "Friends." She said, wiping her eyes. "Now come on, let's get to McGonagall and Snape before we get in even more trouble than we already are."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "I can't believe you called her a wart."

"It was the best insult I could think of at the time." She said, laughing with him.

Harry pulled her along the hallway, "I've missed you Nora."

She felt some of the weight she had been shouldering for the last few months drift away. "I've missed you too, H." She said.

The two made their way along the corridors towards their heads of house, somewhat cheerfully, for a pair of students that had just landed themselves three days of detention. Harry regaled her with tales of his summer, promising to tell her later about the Dementor attack in Little Whinging and the trial at the Wizengamot, which her parents were sure to have known about and had conveniently forgotten to tell her. Parting ways, she followed the corridor to its end, walking down the stairs to the dungeon where Snape's office was located. She came to a halt when she reached it, taking a deep breath, before rapping her knuckles softly on the door. She heard him tell her to enter and he looked up, raising an eyebrow when he saw who stood before him. "Miss Fraser. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She said nothing, and held out the note Umbridge had written. He took it, reading it twice through before he looked at her again. "Outbursts like these are not tolerated at this school." 

Nora stared at him evenly. "Yes, sir." She said. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, in frustration. "Forgive me, but I was under the impression that Dumbledore had been tasked with teaching you occlumency over the summer holiday."

"Uh yes, sir, that's um correct." She fumbled. 

His dark eyes searched hers. "If you would allow me?" She swallowed and nodded. She could feel the reaches of his mind, searching hers, riffling through her shabby collection of potion bottles. She could see in his face that he was looking at the mess her argument in Defense Against the Dark Arts had made of her shelves, she had not yet had the time to sweep up the broken glass of Cedric's bottle or to regather her memories of him and create a new bottle for them. Snape pulled back and she felt him let go of her mind as he did so, the frigid tendrils of his own, coiling and retreating from her own until she had full control again. She stared at him and he stared back. "You must learn better control Miss Fraser." 

"I know." She said, still struggling with her anger from earlier. "I've only just learned how to do this, I'm still new--"

"You have let your guard down far too much in your first day back. You _must_ learn how to control this." He said turning to resume his previous position at his desk. "If you don't, it will end up controlling you." 

"Yes, sir." She said, gritting her teeth. 

She watched as he began scribbling a note on a piece of parchment, folding it quickly, and thrusting it into her hands. "You will go to the library and you will ask Madam Pince to give you the book I have written down here on this piece of parchment. If she has any questions you may direct her to me. I expect you to finish the text and to report back to me in two weeks time. Is that clear?" She nodded. "Very well. You may go." She turned almost making her way out the door before he spoke again. "Oh and Miss Fraser?"

She turned back to look at him. "Yes, Professor?"

"Perhaps next time you might think of a better insult than _wart_. After all we do have a house reputation to maintain." He said, his face a mask of complete seriousness. 

Nora's mouth fell open. She snapped it shut quickly. "I'll-I'll do my best, sir." She turned again and left the office, closing the door behind her and wondered if Severus Snape had changed his mind about liking her. 


	3. Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No thoughts, head empty or whatever

Nora met Harry at the bottom of the Grand Staircase on Thursday evening, exactly ten minutes before they were to serve their detentions. After promising to tell Hermione and Ron everything that happened at dinner later that night, they left making their way through the castle to Professor Umbridge's office, arriving at her door at precisely six o'clock. They paused, and collected themselves, before Harry gave Nora a quick nod and she knocked firmly on the door. "Come in." Umbridge called.

Nora pushed her way into the office, followed by Harry who almost collided with her back as she came to a halt. Nora tried to hide her shock and revulsion as she glanced around at the awful decorations that littered the room. This office had once been one of Nora's favorite rooms in the entire castle. During her third year, when Professor Lupin had taught, it had been full of a medley of items from dark creatures to miscellaneous magical artifacts. Her favorite part had been wall of books that stretched from ceiling to floor. Their covers had been worn and tattered and the volumes had been well read. She had spent many an afternoon warming herself by the fire, discussing class assignments and papers with the light haired wizard, and indeed he had done all he could to answer her questions and feed her curiosity on a wide range of subjects. She had been infuriated when Lupin had let it slide that he had resigned due to his status as a werewolf. The memories seemed to have no place in the room as it was now.

There could be no question that Umbridge's favorite color was pink, after all no one had seen her wear anything other color in her first week at the school, but the extent of the problem was far worse than anyone had realized. The entire office was completely covered in various shades of pink. Lace doilies and pink seat cushions rested on the wide oak desk and matching chairs. The walls were a sickening shade of bubblegum pink and were lined from ceiling to floor with collector's plates of different cats wearing bows. The worst part seemed to be the shrine to the current Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, on shameless display in the left corner of the room. The wall was littered with newspaper clippings of his various achievements and awards since his introduction to office and sitting on, quite literally, a little pedestal in the center of it all was a framed, moving photo of Umbridge and Fudge, her face a complete mask of adoration as he shook her hand. Nora glanced at Harry who also seemed to be fighting back the urge to gag. 

"Good evening, children." Umbridge said, giving them a sweet smile. They murmured back a quick greeting. "Now, do take a seat, and let's get started on those lines shall we?" She gestured towards the two desks that had been set up in the corner by the window and Harry and Nora shuffled their way towards them. 

"Professor, I wondered if I might ask a favor of you." Harry said, quickly before they took their seats.

Umbridge's smile deepened, turning almost sinister. "And what might that be, Mr. Potter?"

"Well you see, I'm on the quidditch team for Gryffindor and we're meant to have keeper tryouts tomorrow night." He gulped as he continued. "So, I had wondered if I might skip tomorrow's detention and do it..another night..." He finished, lamely. Nora could tell just by looking at Umbridge's face that the request was useless, even before he had finished his sentence.

"Oh no, no, no, no." Umbridge said, so gleefully, it was a wonder she wasn't clapping her stubby little hands together. "This is your punishment for spreading nasty, attention seeking lies. And we cannot change the punishment to work around the guilty individual's schedule, now can we? I should think it rather fitting that you are missing out on something you really want to do. Maybe next time you will think twice before opening your mouth without permission in my classroom, yes?"

Nora felt Harry clench and unclench his fists beside her, and she grabbed his hand tightly, silently willing him not to respond. He took a deep breath and gave Umbridge a curt nod, before dropping his book bag on the floor and taking a seat. Nora followed his movements, settling into her chair. "Oh very good you two!" She said, talking to them as if they we children. "I see we are already getting better at controlling our tempers." She moved around the side of her desk as she spoke, opening one of the drawers and rummaging around inside. "Now you two are going to be doing some lines for me today." They did as they were told pulling out parchment and quills from their school bags. "Oh no, no you won't need your quills. I have very special quills for you to use." She produced two large quills from her desk. They were long and black, and their points were sharper than usual, gleaming wickedly in the evening sunlight that scattered across the room

Nora shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "And what would you like us to write, Professor?"

"Well, I should think _I_ _must not tell lies_ will do the trick." It was Nora's turn to be angry. Her temper flared and she gripped the edge of her seat so hard her knuckles went white. She had spent the last two days with her head buried in _A Guide to Advance_ _Occlumency,_ the book Snape had her request from the library, as well as spending a good several hours before bed each night trying to put it into practice. The author had suggested the practice of not only confining her memories to a certain object, such as her potion bottles, but confining those objects to a certain room. A distant place in a part of her mind that she could keep locked, opening it only when she felt the need. And so she had spent her time placing her shelves and bottles into room, quite similar to where she took her daily potions course she took with Professor Snape. She kept the door closed, under lock and key, until she felt the need to create new bottles or make adjustments to ones she had already created. The new addition to the routine had worked wonders over the past few days.

Nevertheless, she felt herself taking several calming breaths as the handle on the door to her potions room began to rattle. Neither her nor Harry had lied this afternoon, but if the stupid old bat wanted to be killed by Voldemort simply because she refused to believe he was was alive, then let her. She rolled up the sleeve of her robes. "How many times?"

Umbridge smiled. "As many times as it takes for the message to sink in." She moved back to her desk, intent on grading the stack of essays there. 

They picked up their quills, preparing to write, before realising neither had been given a pot of ink. "Professor, you've not given us any ink." Harry said. 

She looked up from her papers. "Oh, but you won't need any ink." She said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, a small smile on her face as if she knew the punch line to a joke they did not.

Harry and Nora exchanged a glance, before Nora shrugged and began to work on the lines. _I must not tell lies._ She wrote. As soon as the quill touched the parchment, she stifled a gasp. A searing pain blazed across the back of her right hand. The words appeared on the in crimson colored ink, that looked dark enough to be blood. She spared a glance at her right hand, and saw the words were etched into the space between her thumb and forefinger. They looked had been carved into her skin, red and raw and very much there. She watched as the words shimmered and disappeared as quickly as they had come. 

When she looked up Professor Umbridge was staring at the two of them, a smug look on her face. "Yes?" She asked, daring them to question the task she had given them. 

"Nothing." Harry said, putting his head down quickly, continuing to write. Nora followed his lead and braced herself for a very long night. 

She looked between the two of them. "Yes, that's right." She said, softly. "Because you know, don't you--deep down--that you deserve to be punished." She picked up her quill. "Please, continue." 

They kept at it solidly for the next two hours, writing the words over and over again. When Nora glanced at her hand again, she had to swallow the bile rising in her throat, at the sight. Her hand was hot, and cuts left behind by the quill were no longer healing. The skin around it was red and puffy and Nora could see the faint outline of a bruise beginning to form. Neither one dared to look up from their parchment for fear that any sign of weakness would extend their current torment. When darkness had finally fallen outside the window and the words on the back of Nora's hand were exuding a steady trickle of blood, she saw Umbridge put down her quill and come to stand in front of them. "Now let's see those hands." She said, her own flung out, expectantly. 

Nora and Harry rose from their seats, extending their hands in front of her for inspection. She took both of their hands in hers, her eyes flashing greedily as she inspected the handiwork of her special quills. Nora worked hard to keep herself from cringing. Umbridge sucked in a breath and gave a quick _tsk._ "I see that we will have to work much harder to make an impression next time, won't we Mr. Potter." She said, shaking her head. "Yours simply won't do." She turned to Nora. "As for you Miss Fraser, you're doing well but I think we'll keep working on it." She said, patting Nora's injured hand, almost affectionately. Nora flinched as the contact brought on a fresh wave of pain. Umbridge dropped their hands. "I will see you both tomorrow, for more lines. You may go." She waved them off, dismissively. 

Nora rushed to the desk she had been seated at, shoving her parchment back into her bag, and thumbing the clasps shut. She shouldered the bag and Harry grabbed her uninjured hand as she followed him, wordlessly, out the door. He pulled her along they twisting corridors as they hurriedly made their way to the Great Hall for dinner, though Nora was sure they had missed at least half of it already. He stopped just before they reached the Great Hall pulling her into a well hidden corner, before they could enter. "Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes scanning her face. 

She nodded. "You?"

"Yes." 

She frowned. "If you have to go to detention tomorrow, it'll mean you miss quidditch." 

"I know, but there's no helping that." He sighed. "I guess Angelina will just have to sit those tryouts alone, besides who cares about quidditch right now." He said, grabbing the wrist of her right arm. "Let me see." She allowed him to roll back the sleeve of her robes and felt his sharp intake of breath at the sight of her hand. He brought his own up to compare it to hers. "It's so much worse." He said. "Why is it so much worse?" 

Nora shrugged. "I've always been an easy bleeder." She said removing her hand from his grasp and allowing her sleeve to fall back into place so that it draped over the cuts. "Trust me." She said, at his worried expression. "It's a lot worse than it looks." 

"I almost can't believe it. I mean it's got to be illegal right?" 

Nora frowned. "I'm sure it is, but apparently you can do whatever you want when you're best friends with the Minister of Magic."

"She's completely ruined that office." He said, sadly. 

"I know. I wish Lupin were still here." Harry nodded and looked away quickly. Nora's frown deepened. "Harry, do you think--well do you think we should tell anyone about-?" She gestured down to their injured hands. 

He shook his head. "Let's not give her the satisfaction. Besides, what good would it do? She's too close to the Minister of Magic and Dumbledore's got enough on his plate as it is." 

"Dumbledore? What's Dumbledore got to do with any of this?" 

Harry froze and she knew he'd said something he shouldn't have. "Nothing, it's um it's nothing." 

"Does this have something to do with Fred and George?" She asked. 

"Fred and George?" He asked, confused. 

She sighed. "On the train on the way here, they wouldn't tell me what they were doing over the summer. Said something about not being _allowed_ to mention it. I know something happened and you're acting funny as well. So, what in the name of Merlin is going on?"

"I can't--"

"Right, you can't tell me." Nora rolled her eyes. "I know you all say you're my friends, but I really do wish you would trust me.

"It's not that we don't trust you, Nora. It's just--we're just doing what we were told." He mumbled so quietly Nora almost did not hear him

She laughed. "Since when has Harry Potter _ever_ done what he is told." He grinned. "After all I did spend all summer with Dumbledore and--" 

Harry looked startled. "You spent all summer with Dumbledore?" 

Nora blanched, and cursed herself quietly. "Um I-"

"Now who's the one keeping secrets, Nora." He said, folding his arms across his chest.

Nora threw up her hands. "It's not like I've had the time to tell you. We've only been back at school for two days!" 

"Right, and you couldn't write me a letter all summer?" He said, raising an eyebrow. 

She blushed. "It's not like you wrote me one, Harry." 

He looked down at his feet. "I didn't know what to say." 

Nora ran a hand through her dark hair, letting out a huff of frustration, and forced herself not to think about her cousin. "Can we just agree not to keep secrets from each other from here on out. I really am tired of feeling like I don't know what's going on with the people I am supposed to call my friends." 

He nodded. "I promise." He said, sticking out his little finger to her. 

She looked at him strangely. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

"It's a muggle thing." He said, laughing. "We do it when we make promises. See?" He said, hooking their pinky fingers together. 

She looked at them curiously. "What does it do?"

Harry laughed again. "Nothing, it's symbolic." 

"So an Unbreakable Vow without the magic or the death part?" 

Harry's grin fell. "Uh. Sure? What's an Unbreakable Vow?"

It was Nora's turn to laugh at his worried expression. "Don't worry about it, H. No more secrets?"

"No more secrets." He said nodding. 

"Good. Now let's get something to eat. I'm starving." She hooked her arm in his and pulled him into the Great Hall. They parted for their respective tables, after agreeing to meet with him, Hermione, and Ron, later so they could catch up on everything they had missed due to their distance over the summer holidays.

"You and Potter kiss and make up?" Theo said, as she sat down heavily and began filling her plate.

"Something like that."

He grinned. "Oh Fraser, I'm hurt. I thought you said the other day you'd set your sights _higher_ than me, not lower."

Nora simply rolled her eyes, too tired and far too hungry to argue. Blaise grinned at her. "Well, how was it?"

Nora stuffed a potato in her mouth, greedily. "How was what?"

"Detention with Umbridge?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

Nora tucked her injured hand into her robes, and shrugged. "Nothing I couldn't handle. She's absolutely insufferable, though. Even has a picture of her with the Minister on a little pedestal in the corner of her office like some kind of shrine." She looked around and caught several eyes as she did. "What's that about?" 

Blaise looked uncomfortable. "Everyone has been talking about it, I'm surprised you haven't noticed." 

"Merlin, could they be any more nosey?" She groaned, taking a sip of pumpkin juice out of her cup. "All I did was yell at a teacher. "

Blaise's mouth hung open a bit. "You called her a wart."

Nora shrugged. "She is one. Though come to think of it, toad, probably would have been a better description." 

Blaise held her gaze suddenly serious. "Oh come off it, Nora, you know it was more than that." He reached across the table and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's the first time you've talked about Cedric in months, and you stood up for Potter. As far as I know, most people around here were on the fence about what happened. That was the first time anyone heard you say you actually _believed_ him."

"Bunch of faff." She muttered. 

His eyes searched hers. "Do you believe the Dark Lord is back?" Blaise asked her. 

She was quiet for a few moments, then she nodded. "Yes." She whispered. "I do." 

"Then that's enough for me." Blaise said, leaning back in his seat. "Hurry up." He said, gesturing to her plate. "We've got mountains of homework to do." 

She smiled and shoved another potato in her mouth. "You are _not_ copying from me this year, Zabini."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Love, we both know I am the brains of this operation. You just sit there and look pretty." 

Their banter continued easily throughout dinner, and soon after, they made their way to the Slytherin common room, tucking in to the pile of homework they had been assigned. She worked tirelessly, but Blaise still finished his work before she had even made it a fourth of the way through her own. He offered to stay up with her, but she knew it was late and waved him off, promising to head up to bed soon herself. She finished up her work as quickly as she could, eager to get to her occlumency for the night. Her mind had been strained far too much tonight and she was desperate for the safety of her potion's room. She fished the book out her bag and opened it, turning to the paragraph she had last read, but there was a nagging thought at the back of her mind.

She tried to put her finger on it, replaying the conversation with Blaise in her head over and over again, when it struck her. He had called Voldemort, _Dark Lord._ It had rolled off his tongue without hesitation. Even though most Slytherins had ties to the Death Eaters in some way or another, Nora had always made it abundantly clear, that when it came down to it, she was on Harry's side. It bugged her now to think that she had never given any thought as to whether or not Blaise supported Voldemort's cause. Something had changed the night her cousin had died. It was something significant, something almost tangible. There was a war coming. She was sure of that. She wasn't sure how anyone could deny it. This wasn't child's play any longer and Death Eaters weren't some scary story you told your children to make them behave. This was real. Cedric's death had been the first in a long line of many. She hated to think that her and Blaise could be on opposing sides, to think about what that could mean. Could she really fight against him if she had to? She tried to picture it, the two of them standing in front of each other, wands raised, ready to strike. She shuddered and closed the book, sighing and rubbing her eyes. Gathering up her books and papers, she left the common room and made way for the girls dormitories. 

She all but fell into bed and sleep came quickly. She found no rest in sleeping, however, and began to shift restlessly as the dream began. 

_"There's the cup!" She heard Harry yell, and she felt a hand press against her back urging her forward. She chanced a look over her shoulder, knowing who it would be before she even saw his face. Cedric grinned down at her, his face flushed with excitement as he prepared to become the next Triwizard champion.  
_

_"Cedric, wait!" She said, stopping in her tracks._

_He looked puzzled for a moment. "What is it?"_

_"You can't. You can't touch the cup. It's a portkey-" He shoved past her. "Ced, please!" She called, running after him. They reached the cup at the same time as Harry reaching out to grasp it firmly. She felt a tug behind her navel and closed her eyes as the world began to spin around her. When the movement finally ceased she found her flat on her back in the middle of a graveyard. She rolled over on her side, and came face to face with her cousin's dead body. She shrieked and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him hard, willing him to move. The sound of her screams carried and she heard movement to her left. Someone kicked out at her with their foot and she groaned rolling over onto her back once more. She opened her eyes and saw Voldemort standing over her. His eyes blazing red, wand raised as he laughed at her helplessness. A stream of bright green light hurtled towards her and she raised her arms up to block it._

_And now she was was running through the maze, stumbling over her feet as she searched for a way out._ _"That's my son!" Her uncle was screaming. "That's my BOY!" Her heart was beating frantically in her chest as she found the mouth of the maze rushing towards it. It opened out onto the crowd and she watched as her uncle stumbled through, trying to get to where Harry lay sobbing over her cousin's lifeless body._

_She was moving too, trying to throw herself down next to Harry trying to get past the teachers that had suddenly surrounded the display, but their hands came up to stop her. She was fighting them, thrashing against them and kicking out with her legs, but they held her there. Tears were streaming down her face and she was screaming now. But she couldn't stop herself. She was shaking so hard and someone was calling her--_

"Nora! Wake the hell up!" Pansy said, loudly. 

Nora gasped awake, bolting upright so fast her head almost collided with Pansy's. Her hand flew to her throat as she tried to calm herself down. "Sorry." She said, gasping. "I didn't mean to wake you." Her nightmares, well _nightmare_ \-- it was the same one every night-- it seemed were not as under control as she had hoped. She tried to stop the feeling of nausea that swept over her. 

Pansy gave her a funny look. "Are you--" 

"Please don't finish that statement. If one more person asks me if I'm okay I swear to Godric." Nora grabbed the blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Pansy raised her hands in surrender. "Christ, Fraser, don't get your wand in a knot." She said, climbing back in to her own bed.

Nora ignored her and made for the door, walking down the stairs to the common room. She glanced at the clock in the room and sighed when she realised that she had only been able to manage a few hours of sleep. The fire was still burning and she moved toward it, sitting down in one of the plush armchairs. She tried not to think about the recurring dream she had suffered through all summer. She stared thoughtlessly into the flames, the heat warming her, despite the cold room. She ran a hand, tiredly over her face and wished she had concentrated more diligently on her occlumency before bed. She closed her eyes and began sorting through the memories of the past few days. 

She did not see Draco Malfoy enter the room, and he made no indication that he was there. Instead, he simply studied the scene that had greeted him upon his arrival. Nora Fraser sat in an armchair, at the center of the room. She was wrapped in a blanket, eyes closed as the light from the fire danced across her face. Her long dark hair was messy, and the curls fell haphazardly, no doubt ruined in her sleep. Draco would be a fool not to admit that she was attractive, there was no denying that. _Objectively speaking_ she was probably one of the most attractive girls in their year. He watched distractedly as she furrowed her brow, as if concentrating hard, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as she did so. He breathed in sharply, _Well that was--_ He shook the thought off before it even began. And cleared his throat loudly. "Don't you sleep, Fraser?"

She jumped in surprise at the voice, whipping her head to the side and making eye contact with a very disheveled looking Draco as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, leading up to the boys dormitory. He was dressed in a simple gray cotton shirt and dark sleep pants, his white blonde hair falling in messy waves across his forehead. "What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked, tiredly, closing her eyes again.

He moved lazily across the room, taking a seat on the couch nearest her. He looked at her, taking in the dark circles that had formed under eyes. "I asked you a question first."

"Yes, Malfoy." She said, hotly. "I do sleep." 

He prodded further. "So why are you down here then?"

"It is the common room. I have just as much right to be in my house common room as anyone else." 

He smirked. "I'd be careful if I were you, Nott could be lurking in any one of these corners waiting to grab you."

"How sweet of you to be concerned." She said, sarcastically. "My hero."

He shrugged the comment off. "Oh I don't care. If Nott wants to sully his good name by being caught with a blood traitor like you, then he can be my guest." She tensed but ignored his usual jabs and remained silent. But he had seen the movement and commented on it. "Come on Fraser, why so tense?"

Her eyes flew open, meeting his gaze. "Because _someone_ is being an insufferable twat!" She said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Honestly, why can't you leave me alone for more than five minutes. For someone who hates me you sure do spend a lot of your time _concerned_ with me. It's becoming an obsession!"

He scoffed. "Obsession? Please, I wouldn't come near you with a ten foot broomstick. But I still want to know why you're down here. If only so I can make fun of you for it later." 

"It was a bloody nightmare! Okay!" She said, running a hand through her own messy hair. "Are you happy now? Is that reason enough for you?"

He was quiet at her outburst. "What about?" He said, after a few moments.

Her eyes didn't leave the fire as she spoke. "Cedric. They're always about Cedric. Go ahead, bully me for it."

He looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments and Nora though he might actually say something nice to her. Instead, he _laughed_. "God, how pathetic. Anyone would think he was your boyfriend, the way you've been moping around. Then again maybe that's what you, blood traitors are into. In love with your cousin are you, Fraser? That's rich, even muggles know that's absolutely filthy."

Her mouth almost fell open. She felt that familiar heat of anger spread through her chest, and before she knew what she was doing she had reached out and slapped him square across the face. His head whipped to the side and Nora's hand stung from the impact. "Don't you _ever_ talk about my cousin again." She said, seething. She stood up moving closer and leaning over him so she could, jab a finger in his face. "If you do, I'll make you wish you hadn't." Her cheeks were flushed with anger and her hand shook but she stood her ground. 

He grabbed her wrist, squeezing it tightly, and stood up as well, forcing a little space between them. "How dare you." He eyes were blazing. "You think you have the right to touch me? I meant what I said a few days ago Fraser, I will do _far_ worse to you than you could ever conjure up in that pretty little head of yours."

She shoved him as hard as she could. "I'll hit anyone who talks about my family like that, Malfoy, a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight or not." She poked him in the chest. "You think your breeding makes you any better than me? At least my parents can stand to be in the same room as me." 

He jaw flexed as hit grit his teeth. "Don't bring my parents into this." He spat out at her.

She laughed, "You shouldn't start things you can't finish." 

"I'll finish this." He said, reaching a hand into the waistband of his pants, where she saw his wand resting. His eyes flashed down to where he held tightly to her wrist, and she realised she had exposed the words on the back of her right hand. The skin was broken and bleeding from her earlier movement. His eyebrows furrowed as he caught sight of the words etched into her skin. "What is that?" He said, quietly.

She tried to pull away from him. "It's nothing."

He held onto her wrist, grabbing her fingertips with his other hand to get a better look. He brushed over the words, and she winced at the contact. "I must not tell lies." He murmured. "Umbridge?" He asked his cool gray eyes, snapping up to meet her own. She refrained from answering him, and pulled her hand away. "You have to tell someone." 

"I don't need your help, Malfoy." She said, icily, stooping to pick up the blanket that had fallen to the floor in her frenzy. "Just stay away from me." She said, shaking her head. And with that she disappeared up the staircase to the girls dormitories. 

Draco Malfoy stared after her, his angry retort left unsaid. What did he care about some filthy little blood traitor receiving, in his opinion, a very just punishment for siding with Potter? He should be singing at the thought. Indeed, he was always happy whenever Potter found himself in hot water and Fraser was no different. But the thought of what he had just seen on the back if her hand, it was repulsive. And he was repulsed at the fact that he thought it was repulsive. She was a blood traitor. She was inferior to him in every way possible. She was beneath him and he shouldn't have even touched her. Merlin, what had he been thinking. Nora Frazer deserved what she got, dead cousin or not. And that was the end of it. He made his way to the boys dormitories, not even sure why he had left in the first place.


	4. Short Drop, Quick Stop

Harry and Nora served three such detentions with Umbridge, and they both knew, deep down that those would not be the last. Her hand had begun to bruise and pucker around the edges from the repetition of reopening the wound every time she was forced to scrawl those words down on paper and Harry worried that it was infected. As they headed to the quidditch field, one bright Friday afternoon a week later, Nora shivered slightly in cool air that already promised the coming of fall. She pulled her robes tighter around her and Harry glanced at her hand. "You really should go and see Madame Pomfrey." He said.

She looked at him like he had grown two heads. "Are you mental?"

"Nora, it looks like it's getting infected." He pointed out with a frown.

"Harry, you know how strict the Madame is, she'll want to know exactly how I got it and seeing as I can't exactly tell her, there's no point."

He bit his lip, uncertainly. "Well, we could always make something up. Maybe tell her you found the quill and --?"

"And what? That I continued to use it after it mutilated my skin the first time around?" Nora threw her hands up in the air. "Have you met Madame Pomfrey?"

"I know, I know." He said, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. "But you should at least ask Hermione to help you with a healing spell. You know she's the best out of the four of us."

Nora sighed. "I've already asked her once. You know she'll just try to get me to go to the hospital wing." She said, frowning. "Besides we agreed not to give Umbridge the satisfaction."

"But that was before your hand looked like that." He said, nodding towards it. "I don't how much trouble it gives us, it's not worth losing a hand over."

Nora rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to lose my hand! It's a cut for Godric's sake, people have survived far worse. And I really don't want to risk making more trouble for Dumbledore." " 

"Well, maybe it's worth the risk."

"No, Harry. We can deal with this on our own." She said, firmly. Nora reached into her robes and pulled out her wand. She felt it's familiar comforting hum as she palmed it in her hand. Muttering a quick, _"Episkey"_ she watched the skin knit itself back together. Her hand was still puffy and bruised, and the skin wouldn't hold together for long, but she waved her quick fix under Harry's nose. "There you go, good as new!" He gave her a withering look and opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off, pushing him along the hallway. "No more dilly-dallying. You have quidditch practice to get to and I promised Angelina I'd fill in for Katie, since she's out for today."

They hurried to the pitch, and made their way to the Gryffindor changing rooms. The entire team was already assembled, including a very nervous looking Ron, who had achieved the position of the team's new Keeper. "All right there, Ron?" Nora asked him, grinning at the slightly green tone his face had taken. 

"Sure," He said, giving her a smile that looked more like a grimace. "All right." 

A very disheveled looking Fred appeared, throwing an arm over Nora's shoulders. "He's ready to show us all up on that new broom of his, aren't you ikle prefect?" 

"Shut up." Ron muttered and Nora laughed. 

Angelina came through from the captain's office and gave a quick briefing of the way the practice would go before they were all grabbing their broomsticks and making their way from the changing rooms out to the quidditch field. Nora felt her stomach drop as she took in Draco, Theo, Blaise, Pansy, and the absolutely idiotic duo Crabbe and Goyle standing near the edge of the pitch. "What are they doing here?" She asked Angelina, nodding to where they stood.

Angelina shrugged. "It's open pitch. Can't really tell them to leave."

"You can't but I sure as hell can." Nora said, gripping her broom.

Angelina grabbed her arm. "Just forget it, Nora."

She shrugged her off. "I'll be right back, just get started without me." She walked over to the group quickly, reminding herself to keep her temper under control, even if it was Malfoy she was dealing with. "What are you lot doing here?"

"Heard Weasel made it for Gryffindor keeper." Blaise said, laughing. "Thought we'd come to see how desperate the team actually was."

Nora rolled her eyes. "I know it's an open pitch and all, but did you really have to come just to poke fun?"

"Oh come on Nor," Blaise said, giving her a playful shove. "It's all in good fun."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And like you said, Fraser, it's an open pitch."

Pansy took note of her Gryffindor practice gear, and narrowed her eyes. "Why are _you_ here? And why are you dressed like that?"

Nora rolled her eyes. "It's called a practice uniform, Pansy."

"Right, but why are you wearing Gryffindor colors?" Pansy asked, again.

Theo scoffed. "Don't tell me you're practicing with another house."

Nora squared her shoulders. "And why shouldn't I?"

"Oh that's rich!" Draco said laughing. "So you got a bunch of mudbloods and half-breeds to adopt you?" Crabbe and Goyle laughed at the joke. "I guess we should have expected it, what with your affinity for blood traitors." He continued, nodding to where the twins and their younger brother stood. Nora caught Blaise's eye and saw him frown before his eyes trailed to the floor. She sighed inwardly. She shouldn't have expected anything less. 

Emboldened by the rising temper, she took a step towards Draco. "At least they can play without having to cheat." She snapped.

She realised her mistake too late, as he mirrored her movements, his lean frame towering over her own. "A cheater, am I, Fraser?" She tried to stop the shiver that trailed down her spine, as his warm breath splayed across her face. She could smell the peppermint on his tongue.

She gripped her broom more tightly. "Come on, Malfoy, we all know you've never won a thing on your own without cheating." She tried to maintain her glee as she watched his expression darken, reaching into his robes to pull out his wand. "You know you really should learn to have these types of conversations without resorting to the threats." She said calmly as he jabbed it into her ribcage. "It really is getting quite predictable." The expression turned murderous.

Blaise chuckled, squeezing into the almost non-existent space between them, his hands up in surrender. "Come on, Nora. You know we could outfly them any day of the week. It's all in good fun." He repeated, weakly. Nora knew he was trying to make up for his earlier cowardice.

"Whatever Blaise." She said, mounting her broom. "If you're going to stay down here then keep your mouths shut." She kicked off the ground without waiting for a reply, the cool air rushing around her as she flew to where Angelina hovered on her broom.

"Not going to leave, huh?" She asked.

Nora shook her head. "If anything I just made it about a thousand times worse." She cringed as Pansy shouted something about Angelina's hairstyle looking like a tangled mess of worms.

Angelina ignored the comment. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it." She motioned towards the ongoing game. "Just jump in when you can."

Nora nodded and sped to the far side of the pitch. Fred threw the Quaffle to George who passed it to Nora, who passed it Harry, who passed it to Ron, who promptly dropped it. Fred opened his mouth to say something but Nora gave him a look and shook her head. Ron dove down to pick up the Quaffle and came back up to starting position, blushing profusely as the Slytherin crowd laughed loudly at his blunder. "Go on and pass it, Ron." Nora said, encouragingly. He did as he was told.

Draco cupped his hands over his mouth, yelling to Harry as he did so. "Alright there, Scarhead?" Harry faltered as the Quaffle came his way and caught it with the tips of his fingers. The Slytherins below laughed even harder.

"Been almost a week since your last trip to the hospital!" Gregory yelled. "A record for you isn't it, Potter?" Crabbe gave Goyle a high five. "Good one, mate!" He said, laughing.

Harry and Nora locked eyes. "Ignore them." she said to him. He tossed the Quaffle to Ron who managed to catch it.

"Nice one, Ronald!" George yelled, and Ron beamed.

Fred pulled up his broom beside the two. "He's making a right mess of things, isn't he?" He said, nodding towards Ron as the watched him drop the Quaffle, yet again. 

"He was fine when I was practicing with him this morning." Harry said, wincing at the laughs of the Slytherin fan club below. "I don't know what's got into him."

Nora grimaced. "He's got to be nervous. He's filling Oliver's old position, and those stupid gits down there aren't helping him any."

Fred pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's an embarrassment to the Weasley name!"

"FRED." Nora said, cuffing him in the back of the head. "Be nice."

"OI! You lot!" Angelina called to them. "We're here to practice, not gossip like school girls! Harry why don't you practice with the Snitch a bit." Harry nodded and flew off. Fred gave Nora a look before he flew over to his position as a beater. "Right, Ron let's start again. Pass off to Nora." 

Ron threw the Quaffle to Nora's outstretched hands a bit too excitedly and the force of the throw caught her off guard. With no hands to right herself, she veered to the left, almost falling off her broom completely, as she wrapped her legs as tightly as she could around the handle. Her broom began to jerk, wildly, whipping her body from side to side so violently she had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from biting off her tongue. Hanging off the broom by her legs, she dropped the Quaffle and tried to right herself, pulling herself up by the legs so she could grab onto the handle of her broomstick. It jerked out of reach every time her fingertips brushed against the wood. Panic began to set in as she grappled for it. Her broom had always been an extension of her magic, a tool that her magic worked through. It would never act this way of its own accord. _Because it's not acting of its own accord._ She thought to herself. It had been hexed. _Malfoy._

She could hear the shouts of alarm and saw Harry rushing towards her. She caught hold of her broomstick's handle gripping it tightly, but in her haste to right herself, her legs slipped and the force of her body weight left her dangling from her broom by one hand. Her right hand felt slick and warm and she watch as the trickle of red trailed from her hand down her forearm. The stupid lines on the back of her hand had reopened again. She groaned and tried to readjust herself throwing her other hand up to grab the handle. She looked down and felt the panic pool in her stomach as she realised just how far up off the ground she was. Harry pulled up beside her. "Grab my hand!" He yelled at her.

He thrust his hand out and she grabbed, just as her broom shuddered and jerked out her reach. She was left dangling in the air, Harry's broom dipping as he struggled to pull her up. She grimaced as his grip dug into her hand and felt the panic claw its way up her throat as she felt herself slipping. "Harry!" She yelled. "I'm slipping!"

His own eyes were blown wide with fear as he came to the same realization. He reached down with his other hand, scrambling to grab on to something, anything, that would keep her from falling. His hand fisted in the collar of her uniform and the weight of her body almost sent him toppling off his own broom. "Nora!" He yelled, completely panic stricken. "Nora, I can't hold you!" 

At that moment she felt the stitching give way and her hand slipped from his as she began falling. She picked up speed as she hurtled towards the earth, her screams caught in her throat as she felt the wind being knocked out her. She tried not to think about how much the impact would hurt or that they would probably be scraping pieces of her off the pitch for weeks to come. _If I make it out of this alive,_ she thought to herself. _I am going to absolute murder Draco Malfoy._ She felt someone grab her arm suddenly and pull with all their might. Her shoulder gave an audible pop and she bit back a scream as she hung a few feet from the ground. Fred tried to set her down as softly as possible as the rest of the team dismounted their brooms and came running towards her.

"Nora, are you okay?" He said taking her face in his hands.

"I think so?" She said, shakily.

He scanned her body quickly searching for injuries. "Where does it hurt?" Nora bit her lip. "Come on." Fred said, eyes narrowing. "I felt something pop. What is it?"

She closed her eyes. "I think it might be my shoulder."

Blaise had joined the crowd forming and pushed his way through, kneeling beside Fred. He glanced down at the torn skin of her right hand. "You've got to go to the infirmary."

Nora shook her head. "I'm alright, really."

"Don't be silly." He said, grabbing her arm to help her up. Her shoulder gave a sharp twinge of protest and she gritted her teeth. Blaise realised then, that she had injured much more than her hand. "You idiot!" He said, giving Fred a shove.

"Oi!" said George, coming to his twin's defense. "Back off Zabini!"

"Back off?" Blaise said, getting to his feet. "She almost broke her neck!"

Harry got in between the two boys. "Yeah and she wouldn't be sitting on the ground with a broken shoulder if you and your Slytherin pals hadn't decided to make absolute gits of yourself with all that heckling!"

Nora saw Blaise's shoulders tense. "Get out of my face, Potter. I'm warning you."

"No, Blaise, I'm warning you." Harry said, giving him a slight shove. "Nora's one of the best flyers I've ever seen, there's no way she would have fallen like that on her own. I know what a hexed broom looks like." She saw Blaise come to the same realization as the words left Harry's mouth.

The adrenaline that had been rushing through her body, seemed to dissipate quickly, and the pain it left in its wake made Nora bite her lip again to keep from crying out. "Boys, so sorry to interrupt but I really don't think I can last much longer down here." She said, stifling a groan of pain. "If someone could just get me-"

Harry interrupted her, before she could finish the thought. "Infirmary Nora. No arguments." He moved to help Fred as he hoisted her up off the ground.

"I'm so sorry Nora." Fred said, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Be in a lot worse shape without you, Freddie." She said, trying to flash him a quick grin. Blaise trailed after them grumbling and muttering all they way.

"Well I have to say," Theo said, smirking. "Thank you for the entertainment, you sure do keep things interesting, Fraser." 

"Off day, Theo." She threw back at him.

He snorted at her response. "Do you usually come so close to death on your off days?"

Blaise opened his mouth to reply, looking murderous. Nora stopped him. "Leave off, Blaise. He doesn't mean anything by it."

"Then he should keep his stupid mouth shut." Blaise said, turning towards the castle. "Well?" He said, over his shoulder. "Don't we have an infirmary to get too?"

"Right, let's go then." Harry said, snapping out of his daze and slowly guiding Nora towards the castle.

Nora's shoulder was not broken, only dislocated and she gripped Harry's hand tightly as Madame Pomfrey set it back into place as quickly as possible. She frowned at Nora's flimsy explanation about the injury to her hand but performed a quick healing spell and pursed her lips as she read the words that now scarred the back of the girl's hand. Her frown deepened as she caught sight of the same angry red words on the back of Harry's hand. She moved to the other side of the room looking for a salve for them both. Harry turned to her. "It was hexed, wasn't it? Your broom."

"Yes, I think so." She said, sighing.

"Malfoy?"

She met his eyes. "I shouldn't have goaded him, like I did."

"Nora," Harry said, his brow furrowed with worry. "He could have-"

She interrupted him, pushing a finger against his lips. "He didn't."

He wrapped his hand around her own. "He's still a git and I'll still kill him." 

Nora laughed. "Not if I get my hands on him first." 

Madame Pomfrey returned, giving them a stern talking to, reminding them of the importance of broom safety and added that they should always visit the infirmary first, rather than trying to fix their injuries on their own. Harry and Nora exchanged a glance, but agreed rather reluctantly. Body parts mended, she shooed them out of the infirmary to their eager crowd of friends.

Nora grinned as she caught sight of them. "Alright, lads?" She said, laughing as they crowded in around her and Harry.

"You okay?" Blaise asked, still concerned.

Nora nodded. "I'm fine." Blaise turned towards Fred. "Thank you." He said, sticking out his hand. "For what you did out there. You probably saved her life."

Fred eyed his outstretched hand, warily. "I didn't do it for you." He said, but took his hand anyways. "She's just as much our friend as she is yours."

"Still." Blaise said. "Thank you." 

"Wow." George smirked, eyebrows raised. "That was almost decent of you Zabini."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Don't get used to it, Weaselbee. We are not friends."

They separated then, Nora giving the boys quick hugs with the promise to talk to them all the following morning at breakfast. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." She said, at Harry's meaningful look. "I promise." She added, and he seemed to relax slightly.

She followed Blaise to the Slytherin common room, coming a halt as Blaise stared. "Blaise, what-" She peered over his shoulder, the words dying in her throat as she took in the scene. Draco sat on one of the couches, Pansy seated in his lap, laughing as he regaled the group with whatever tale he was telling. Blaise started forward, and Nora grabbed his arm. "Blaise, don't." 

Blaise tore his arm away, stalking over to where Draco sat. "What the hell are you playing at?" He said, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck. Pansy shrieked, falling to the ground. 

"Mate, calm down." Theo said. 

Blaise almost shook with rage. "Calm down?" He bit out. "He could have _killed_ her." 

" _Blaise, don't_." Nora repeated, shaking her head. 

"Yeah, Blaise, listen to your little blood traitor." Draco spat. "God, I have to tell you, Fraser, that was some of the best magic I have ever performed. You were so close to joining your dead cousin, it's a pity one of the Weasel twins came to your aide." 

Blaise threw him up against the nearby wall, and Nora winced at the contact. "You shut your filthy mouth, Malfoy." 

"Blaise!" Nora said, desperately. "Blaise, please just leave it!" 

Draco smirked, "Yes, Blaise. Be a good little bitch. _Woof._ " Blaise paused, and then before anyone could process what was happening, his fist made contact with Draco Malfoy's face. Draco clutched his face as blood spurted from his nose. He looked shocked and almost afraid. Blaise had been her friend since first year, but he had never threatened Draco with violence for the things he said about her. "My father will hear about this!" He said, through a mouthful of blood.

"As if your father would care, Malfoy." Blaise spat. Theo slung an arm over Blaise's chest, pulling hard enough to break his hold on Draco's collar. "You stay away from Nora or I will make you regret it."

"Blaise, come on." Theo said, tugging on his chest again. He pulled Blaise up towards the boys dormitories, giving Nora a pointed look as he did so.

The common room emptied quickly and soon Draco and Nora were the only two left. Draco stood there stemming the flow of blood from his nose, muttering a quick _"Scourgify"_ to clear the blood that stained the front of his shirt. Nora bit her lip wondering if she should stay, but she wanted to know the answer to the question that had been gnawing at her. "Why did you do it?"

Draco's eyes snapped up to meet hers. "What?"

"Why did you do it?" Nora repeated, folding her arms.

He strode towards her with a purpose, grabbing her shoulders and squeezing tightly. She tried not to wince at the tenderness in her arm, knowing he had probably done it one purpose. "Let me tell you something, Nora Fraser." He said, shaking her, roughly.

"Go on then." She said, calmly.

His confidence wavered slightly, but he continued. "Don't act so high and mighty with me. One day your little friends aren't going to be around to protect you--"

"And I had better watch my back, yes, yes. You've said it all before." She said, waving him off. "I can take care of myself, Malfoy." She said, looking at him evenly. "So why did you do it?"

"Simple." He said, eyes cold. "You insulted me." 

She searched his face. "No." She said, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. "It's because I scare you." 

He laughed. "Don't be ridiculous." 

"I do, don't I?" She said, voice low. "I don't let you push me around, and that gets under your skin." Draco's grip dropped from her shoulders. She pushed further. "In fact, I would say the other night proved that you can be as nasty as you want to me but deep down, you know there's more to it than that." His eyes flickered to the scar on the back of her hand.

His voice was hard and angry when he spoke again. "I will _never_ care what happens to a blood traitor like you. In fact, I wish you had joined your cousin, today."

Nora held his gaze for a moment searching his face, for what--she was not entirely sure. But she must have seen something that caused her to doubt his words. His actions the other night said something entirely different than the words that had just left his mouth, and even his earlier actions. He was still cruel, but there was a glimmer of something else there as well. "I don't believe you." She said, quietly. She turned from him as Theo came back down the stairs.

His eyes narrowed as he took in their close proximity to each other. "What's going on?" He said, tightly. Nora sat down at the table in the far corner of the room. "Nothing." She told him as Draco moved past him, brushing Theo's shoulder with his own as he did so. "Absolutely nothing at all." She said, shaking her head.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome!   
> Please bear with me as I work out the kinks in this story. I will try to update at least once a week! School has already started for me though so please have some patience with me!


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